Soccer Edition 94

Welcome to the Soccer Newsletter. Today's subject will deal with the double pass.

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A double pass is when Player A passes the ball to Player B (frequently it's a soft pass) to draw the player (and her defender) toward Player A. Player B then one touches the ball back to Player A (on an angle to allow for success on the next pass) and then Player B spins away. Player A then plays the ball into the space that Player B is running into (which is going to be behind the player defending Player B. This is a penetrating pass into space for Player B to either get to goal or to get a ball served. (see diagram below)

One of the keys to the double pass is for Player B to make a run back to the ball and also be able to hold the defender off. Then, Player A should play a SOFT pass into Player B. The reason this ball should be played soft is that you WANT to draw the player marking Player B to think she can get the ball. By checking back like this, you open up the space for the penetrating pass. This soft pass is one of the most misunderstood passes in soccer because we, as coaches, spend so much time asking our players to hit a ball hard and now all of a sudden, we want them to hit a soft pass. The key here is for the players to understand why the ball is hit softly. When they realize that the intention is to draw the defender to the ball, it makes for this to work much better.

One of the reasons the double pass isn't used enough in youth soccer is that the players simply don't get to watch enough high level soccer. When you start watching professional games from around the world, you start to appreciate how things like the double pass really can take you to the next level in terms of tactical awareness.

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Have a great day!

Lawrence